Process of treating argillaceous and alkaline ores.



No. 719,207. PATENTED JAN. 27, 1903. G. H. GAGE.

PROCESS 0F TREATING ARGILLACEOUS ANDALKALINE DRES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 29, 1901.

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lUNiTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES I-I. GAGE, OE DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR TO JESSE E. KREPPS, y

OE PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF TREATlNG ARGlLLACEOUS AND ALKALINE ORES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Eatent No. 719,207, dated January 27, 1903. Application tiled October 29, 1901. Serial No. 80,432. (N Specimens.)

jo all wtont t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. GAGE, of Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Treating Argillaceous and Alkaline Ores; and Ido hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which ro it appertains to make-and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide a new and highly efficient process for recovering gold, silver, copper, nickel, bismuth, telluriuln, and cobalt from argillaceous and alkaline ores heretofore regarded as practically valueless, owing to the expense and difficulty involved in their working.

By my invention all values are extracted at a very moderate cost and within a reasonzo able time.

The invention will now be fully described, and hereinafter particularly set forth in the claims.

The ores are placed in a vat having a bottom of such porosity as to allow ot' iiltration.

They are first subjected to a bath of twoper-cent. solution of hydrocyanic acid for the purpose of extracting the gold and silver. In treating concentrates or other finelyground ores I use a ve-per-cent. alkaline solution or a solution of common potash with a two one-hundredth-per-cent. solution of copper sulfate for the purpose of preventing the ore from solidifying or packing, the so- ,35 lution of copper sulfate being first heated to 160 Fahrenheit. The ore in solution is then gently agitated by the introduction of free air heated before its introduction to 200 Fahrenheit. After such agitation has continued 4o for a period of one hour a tWo-tenths-of-oneper-cent. solution of potassium cyanid is introduced into the solution and the agitation continued for two hours or until all chemical action ceases. During these steps filtration is constantly occurring into an outer vat through the porous bottom of the inner vat. The solution is then drawn off from the outer vat and allowed to percolate through aconicalshaped bed of charcoal, finely powdered and 5o previously treated with a tWo-per-cent. solution of iron sulfate. To this cone are attached the positive and negative poles of an electric current by a storage battery of low voltage and high amperage. The electric current passing serves to precipitate the gold and silver upon the charcoal.

By the process herein described I am enabled to recover values from argillaceous and alkaline ores heretofore regarded as valueless or which involved such great expense in 6o their working as to make the same inadvisable.

To enable the application of the invention to be fully understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings an apparatus for carrying out my invention, Figure l being an enlarged view in vertical section of the two vats with the air-heater and pump and storage battery. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the carbon cone. 7o

l designates the inner vat; 2, its porous bottom; 3, the outer vat; 4., the pump; 5, the air-heater; 6, the outlet-pipe; 7, the carbon cone; 8, the storage battery; 9, the switch, and lO the Wires leading to the cone.

I claim as my inventiou- Y l. The process herein described, of reducing low-grade refractory ores, such as argillaceous and alkaline ores, carrying gold, silver, copper, nickel, dac., which consists in 8o subjecting the ores to a bath of hydrocyanic acid, agitating the mixture, then adding a solution of potassium cyanid and agitating until all chemical action ceases, and then separating the precious metals by electrodeposition, as set forth.

2. The process herein described, of reducing concentrates of argillaceous and alkaline ores carrying gold, silver, copper, nickel,&c., which consists in subjecting them to a bath 9o of alkaline solution and a solution of copper sulfate, then agitating the mixture, then adding a solution of potassium cyanid and agitating until all chemical action ceases,and then separating the precious metals by electrodeposition, as set forth.

3. The process herein described of reducing argillaceous and alkaline ores carrying gold, silver, copper, nickel, dac., which consists in subjecting them to a bath of hydroroo cyanic acid,agitating the mixture with heated air, then adding a solution of potassium cyanid and further agitating by heated air until all chemical action ceases, as set forth.

4. A step in the described process of treating concentrates, containing precious metals,

5 which consists in passing the solution containing the same through a bed of charcoal treated with a solution of iron sulfate, said bed being within an electric circuit and subjected to a current of high amperage and 10W 1o voltage, thereby electrolytically depositing the precious metals, as set forth.

5. The process herein described of reducing argillaceous and alkaline ores Which consists in subjecting them to a bath of hydror5 cyanic acid, agitating the mixture, adding a 

